BP - Why I Agree With Florida Sen. George LeMieux, a Republican!

It will take years to completely clean up the damage from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster, Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the federal government's response manager for the oil disaster, said Monday.

The total amount of crude being collected from the ruptured undersea well responsible for the disaster increased Sunday to roughly 466,000 gallons -- or 11,100 barrels -- according to estimates from BP and Allen.  [Remember when BP said the leak was only 1,000 barrels and  then said maybe 5,000 - so now they are collecting 11,000.  BP cannot be trusted - period.]

Allen said Monday that roughly 120 linear miles of coastline in the Gulf have now been affected by the spill.

Allen warned Sunday that while BP has made progress in its cleanup efforts, it remains too early to call the effort a success.


"We're making the right progress. (But) I don't think anyone should be pleased as long as there's oil in the water," Allen said on CNN's "State of the Union."

The oil "is an insidious enemy," Allen said. "It's attacking all of our shores, it's holding the Gulf hostage, basically."

And in what may surprise some, I am in 100% agreement with a Republican from Florida.  Florida Sen. George LeMieux, a Republican, demanded that BP donate $1 billion for a cleanup fund for the five Gulf states and said that Obama "needs to push them to do that."